- Introduced a comprehensive manuscript detailing the optimization framework for buckling-delayed shear-link dampers. - Included sections on introduction, device description, FEM calibration, surrogate modeling, optimization algorithm, and adaptive validation. - Implemented a damage-aware objective function and outlined the methodology for generating high-fidelity FEM datasets. - Discussed the predictive performance of supervised ML models and RBF surrogates, along with planned numerical assessments. - Added author contributions, acknowledgments, financial disclosures, and conflict of interest statements.